March 13 – Ken Day

Posted
on March 13, 2014

Fans
of Barbie dolls recently celebrated Barbie Day, the anniversary of
her 1959 introduction to the world. Well, today is Ken Day. I assume (but could not confirm) that the Ken
doll was unleashed on the world on this date in 1961.

Ken
is Barbie's boyfriend. Like Barbie, he is forever young and
constantly reinvented (for example, the original Ken had felt hair,
but from 1962 on he has been sporting lower-maintenance plastic
molded hair). Ken's “into” everything – he's had at least 40
careers, although his career-hopping is dwarfed by Barbie's 78+
careers!

It is not at all clear, however, if he is “into” getting
married. In 2004, after decades of being boyfriend-girlfriend, Barbie
and Ken split up but (according to manufacturer Mattel) remained
friends. In 2011, again according to Mattel, Ken launched a massive
campaign to get Barbie back. It seems to me that it couldn't have
been that “massive,” however, because by Valentine's Day (2/14)
of that year, the power couple was reunited.

It's
almost scary to read about Ken in Wikipedia.
I guess it stands to reason that someone has come up with his last
name and the names of his father and younger brother; but, then, why
doesn't his mother have a name? Also, who knew that Barbie and Ken
met on the set of a TV commercial, or that Ken loved inventing
gadgets?

Another
thing I didn't know: Ken was in Toy Story 3, and he was wearing a
different outfit in every scene of the movie! (You just don't see
Woody and Buzz Lightyear changing clothes and accessories that
often!) A groovy look at Ken's life was released on You Tube
to help pump interest in the movie.

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This site is designed to be a source of interesting articles for kids and a resource for teachers and parents (especially homeschool teacher/parents!). From world holidays to historical anniversaries, Every Day Is Special celebrates each and every day.